Japan itinerary, day by day

From electric Tokyo to the temples of Kyoto, a rail itinerary built around the Japan Rail Pass: the map, the experiences worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 5 stops☀️ Best time: March to May and October to November

Tokyo · Photo Syced / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Japan in 7 days

3 stops · 17 things to do · train

1Tokyo

Days 1-3

Fourteen million people, temples and neon in the same street. From ancient Senso-ji to the Shibuya crossing, the old city and the new one never stopped sharing the ground.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk: Asakusa to Shibuya3h · from €45
Two faces of Tokyo in a day, from the old temple district to the busiest crossing on earth.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sushi workshop with a chef2h · from €60
Make your own sushi alongside a chef, and learn why the rice matters more than the fish.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Meiji Shrine · Shibuya crossing · Senso-ji Temple · Yoyogi Park

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Nui. Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Mitsui Garden Ginza (€165 a night) · Luxury: The Peninsula Tokyo (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Momo Paradise Shinjuku Higashi-guchi ↗ ★ 4.9 · 10886 reviews · €€
MO-MO-PARADISE Shibuya Center-gai ↗ ★ 4.9 · 9204 reviews · €€
BeBu-Ya ↗ ★ 4.9 · 6689 reviews
MO-MO-PARADISE Shibuya Koendori ↗ ★ 4.9 · 6677 reviews · €€
Ise Sueyoshi ↗ ★ 4.9 · 438 reviews

Photo Yang Lu / Pexels

🚆 Train · 1h30 · 90 km

2Hakone

Day 4

A hot-spring town on the old Tokaido road, known for its onsen and, on a clear morning, its view of Mount Fuji.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake Ashi cruise and ropewayHalf day · from €30
A crossing of Lake Ashi, then the cable car over the steaming volcanic valley of Owakudani.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Traditional onsen2h · from €25
The Japanese hot bath, outdoors and facing the trees. A ritual, not a spa treatment.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Fuji viewpoint · The Hakone torii standing in the lake · The old Tokaido trail

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: K's House Hakone (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Yumoto Fujiya Hotel (€150 a night) · Luxury: Fujiya Hotel (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Hakone Teppanyaki Zen ↗ ★ 5 · 188 reviews
BOX BURGER 箱根湯本店… ↗ ★ 4.9 · 771 reviews
CIRCLE HAKONE ↗ ★ 4.9 · 258 reviews
うなぎ長谷川箱根湯本 ↗ ★ 4.9 · 239 reviews
Niku no Kinosuke ↗ ★ 4.8 · 323 reviews

Photo Kentagon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚄 Shinkansen · 2h15 · 370 km

3Kyoto

Days 5-7

The imperial capital for a thousand years, and spared by the bombs. Sixteen hundred temples, among them the gold-leafed Kinkaku-ji and the vermilion gates of Fushimi Inari.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tea ceremony1h · from €40
An hour inside the slowest art in Japan, where every gesture is fixed and nothing is hurried.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided tour: Fushimi Inari and Gion3h · from €50
The ten thousand torii gates of Fushimi Inari, then the wooden lanes of the geisha district.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Fushimi Inari · Arashiyama bamboo grove · Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion (from outside) · Gion district

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Piece Hostel Kyoto (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Granvia Kyoto (€150 a night) · Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto (€690 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Kyoto Tempura Ten no Meshi Gionhonten ↗ ★ 4.9 · 5363 reviews
Katsu ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1302 reviews · €
Premium Pound Gion ↗ ★ 4.9 · 603 reviews · €€€
Fujitate ↗ ★ 4.9 · 434 reviews · €€
Kakyo ↗ ★ 4.9 · 202 reviews

Photo Arnie Papp / Pexels

Japan in 10 days

5 stops · 25 things to do · train

1Tokyo

Days 1-3

Fourteen million people, temples and neon in the same street. From ancient Senso-ji to the Shibuya crossing, the old city and the new one never stopped sharing the ground.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk: Asakusa to Shibuya3h · from €45
Two faces of Tokyo in a day, from the old temple district to the busiest crossing on earth.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sushi workshop with a chef2h · from €60
Make your own sushi alongside a chef, and learn why the rice matters more than the fish.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Meiji Shrine · Shibuya crossing · Senso-ji Temple · Yoyogi Park

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Nui. Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Mitsui Garden Ginza (€165 a night) · Luxury: The Peninsula Tokyo (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Yang Lu / Pexels

🚆 Train · 1h30 · 90 km

2Hakone

Day 4

A hot-spring town on the old Tokaido road, known for its onsen and, on a clear morning, its view of Mount Fuji.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake Ashi cruise and ropewayHalf day · from €30
A crossing of Lake Ashi, then the cable car over the steaming volcanic valley of Owakudani.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Traditional onsen2h · from €25
The Japanese hot bath, outdoors and facing the trees. A ritual, not a spa treatment.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Fuji viewpoint · The Hakone torii standing in the lake · The old Tokaido trail

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: K's House Hakone (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Yumoto Fujiya Hotel (€150 a night) · Luxury: Fujiya Hotel (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Kentagon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚄 Shinkansen · 2h15 · 370 km

3Kyoto

Days 5-7

The imperial capital for a thousand years, and spared by the bombs. Sixteen hundred temples, among them the gold-leafed Kinkaku-ji and the vermilion gates of Fushimi Inari.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tea ceremony1h · from €40
An hour inside the slowest art in Japan, where every gesture is fixed and nothing is hurried.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided tour: Fushimi Inari and Gion3h · from €50
The ten thousand torii gates of Fushimi Inari, then the wooden lanes of the geisha district.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Fushimi Inari · Arashiyama bamboo grove · Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion (from outside) · Gion district

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Piece Hostel Kyoto (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Granvia Kyoto (€150 a night) · Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto (€690 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Arnie Papp / Pexels

🚆 Train · 45 min · 40 km

4Nara

Day 8

Japan's first permanent capital, in the eighth century. Deer roam free and the Todai-ji still shelters its Great Buddha.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided visit of Todai-ji2h · from €25
The temple that holds a fifteen-metre bronze Buddha, inside one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The deer park · The Great Buddha (from outside) · Kasuga Shrine

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Guesthouse Nara (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Nara Hotel (€190 a night) · Luxury: JW Marriott Hotel Nara (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Gyumabushi Miyama ↗ ★ 4.8 · 2058 reviews · €€
Vegan Cafe Ramuna ↗ ★ 4.8 · 485 reviews
Indian Nepali restaurant LUMBINI ↗ ★ 4.8 · 367 reviews
Meat and Nara Cuisine COO ↗ ★ 4.8 · 207 reviews · €€
Okada ↗ ★ 4.8 · 144 reviews

Photo Daniel Trotta / Pexels

🚆 Train · 1h · 50 km

5Osaka

Days 9-10

The country kitchen, and the country party. A historic castle on one side, the neon canal of Dotonbori on the other.

🎟️ Worth booking

Dotonbori food tour3h · from €55
Takoyaki and okonomiyaki along the canal, in the district Osaka calls its own kitchen.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Osaka Castle grounds · The neon of Dotonbori · Kuromon Market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Osaka Guesthouse Nest (€26 a night) · Mid-range: Cross Hotel Osaka (€155 a night) · Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

GYUKATSU Kyoto Katsugyu Doutonbori-nakaza-cuidaore BLD. ↗ ★ 4.9 · 12109 reviews · €€
Onigiri Gorichan ↗ ★ 4.9 · 10051 reviews
Japanese Omakase Restaurant YOSAKURA ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2092 reviews
DOTONBORI KUROFUNE Amemura ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1890 reviews
The Fire ↗ ★ 4.8 · 950 reviews

Photo Tamjeed A / Pexels

Japan in 14 days

6 stops · 29 things to do · train

1Tokyo

Days 1-4

Fourteen million people, temples and neon in the same street. From ancient Senso-ji to the Shibuya crossing, the old city and the new one never stopped sharing the ground.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk: Asakusa to Shibuya3h · from €45
Two faces of Tokyo in a day, from the old temple district to the busiest crossing on earth.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Sushi workshop with a chef2h · from €60
Make your own sushi alongside a chef, and learn why the rice matters more than the fish.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Meiji Shrine · Shibuya crossing · Senso-ji Temple · Yoyogi Park

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Nui. Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Mitsui Garden Ginza (€165 a night) · Luxury: The Peninsula Tokyo (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Yang Lu / Pexels

🚆 Train · 1h30 · 90 km

2Hakone

Day 5

A hot-spring town on the old Tokaido road, known for its onsen and, on a clear morning, its view of Mount Fuji.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake Ashi cruise and ropewayHalf day · from €30
A crossing of Lake Ashi, then the cable car over the steaming volcanic valley of Owakudani.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Traditional onsen2h · from €25
The Japanese hot bath, outdoors and facing the trees. A ritual, not a spa treatment.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Fuji viewpoint · The Hakone torii standing in the lake · The old Tokaido trail

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: K's House Hakone (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Yumoto Fujiya Hotel (€150 a night) · Luxury: Fujiya Hotel (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Kentagon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

🚄 Shinkansen · 2h15 · 370 km

3Kyoto

Days 6-8

The imperial capital for a thousand years, and spared by the bombs. Sixteen hundred temples, among them the gold-leafed Kinkaku-ji and the vermilion gates of Fushimi Inari.

🎟️ Worth booking

Tea ceremony1h · from €40
An hour inside the slowest art in Japan, where every gesture is fixed and nothing is hurried.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Guided tour: Fushimi Inari and Gion3h · from €50
The ten thousand torii gates of Fushimi Inari, then the wooden lanes of the geisha district.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Fushimi Inari · Arashiyama bamboo grove · Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion (from outside) · Gion district

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Piece Hostel Kyoto (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Granvia Kyoto (€150 a night) · Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto (€690 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Arnie Papp / Pexels

🚆 Train · 45 min · 40 km

4Nara

Day 9

Japan's first permanent capital, in the eighth century. Deer roam free and the Todai-ji still shelters its Great Buddha.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided visit of Todai-ji2h · from €25
The temple that holds a fifteen-metre bronze Buddha, inside one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The deer park · The Great Buddha (from outside) · Kasuga Shrine

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Guesthouse Nara (€38 a night) · Mid-range: Nara Hotel (€190 a night) · Luxury: JW Marriott Hotel Nara (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Daniel Trotta / Pexels

🚄 Shinkansen · 1h50 · 340 km

5Hiroshima & Miyajima

Days 10-11

Marked by 1945 and turned into a city of peace. Just offshore, the floating torii of Miyajima is one of the great sights of Japan.

🎟️ Worth booking

Miyajima day trip (ferry included)Half day · from €35
The island of the floating torii, which stands in the water at high tide and on the sand at low.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Peace Memorial Park · The Genbaku Dome · The floating torii of Miyajima

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: J-Hoppers Hiroshima (€32 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Granvia Hiroshima (€145 a night) · Luxury: Rihga Royal Hiroshima (€260 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

INDIAN DINING KUMKUM HIROSHIMA ↗ ★ 4.9 · 321 reviews
Calibar Hiroshima ↗ ★ 4.9 · 183 reviews
Parco della Pace ↗ ★ 4.8 · 930 reviews · €€
koba ↗ ★ 4.8 · 616 reviews · €€
NAMASTE HIROSHIMA KUM KUM ↗ ★ 4.8 · 555 reviews · €€

Photo Niccolò Chiamori / Pexels

🚄 Shinkansen · 1h30 · 340 km

6Osaka

Days 12-14

The country kitchen, and the country party. A historic castle on one side, the neon canal of Dotonbori on the other.

🎟️ Worth booking

Dotonbori food tour3h · from €55
Takoyaki and okonomiyaki along the canal, in the district Osaka calls its own kitchen.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Osaka Castle grounds · The neon of Dotonbori · Kuromon Market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Osaka Guesthouse Nest (€26 a night) · Mid-range: Cross Hotel Osaka (€155 a night) · Luxury: The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka (€450 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Tamjeed A / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Sushi and sashimi: raw fish at its freshest, eaten at the counter.
Ramen: noodles in a deep broth, the comfort food of the country.
Tempura: vegetables and prawns in a batter light enough to see through.
Okonomiyaki: a savoury pancake piled with filling, the pride of Osaka and Hiroshima.
Matcha and wagashi: green tea and the delicate sweets made to go with it.

⚠️ What to avoid

Never stand your chopsticks upright in rice, and do not blow your nose at the table.
Tipping does not exist and can embarrass: leave nothing.
Eating while walking down the street is frowned upon.
Get an IC card (Suica or Pasmo) rather than buying single tickets.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Japan guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Japan, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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